Of course, Universal are pretty much the only studio who are only supporting HD-DVD. This is unfortunate as the war between the formats is all over bar the shooting, with Blu-Ray the all but certain winner.

So... decision time. Still, if you want to see Serenity in beautiful Hi-Definition whenever you want, it'll cost you around 500 bucks for the player and another 30 for the disc (probably) in just two months time.

Even if you're utterly disinterested in HiDef DVDs, this is still a good sign as it shows that Universal still consider the movie to be a flagship title alongside The 40-Year-Old Virgin, Jarhead, Doom, Cinderella Man, Apollo 13, The Chronicles of Riddick, U-571, Van Helsing and The Bourne Supremacy. Okay, so nobody actually wants to be next to Van Helsing but still...

I'll eventually be getting a Hi-Def unit, but probably not until the format wars between Blueray and the HD-DVD are over. Sigh, VHS/Betamax all over again. That, and the price will drop on the units once they are out for awhile.

Now I just have to get my big screen TV. Just waiting for the true 1080p units to hit. Hopefully in 06.

Quote:SimonWho wrote:
Thursday, January 05, 2006 03:26
It's been confirmed by Universal that Serenity will be among their first 10 titles on HD-DVD:

Even if you're utterly disinterested in HiDef DVDs, this is still a good sign as it shows that Universal still consider the movie to be a flagship title alongside The 40-Year-Old Virgin, Jarhead, Doom, Cinderella Man, Apollo 13, The Chronicles of Riddick, U-571, Van Helsing and The Bourne Supremacy. Okay, so nobody actually wants to be next to Van Helsing but still...

Wow! Van Helsing huh? I just saw this steaming turd log for the first time last night... Thats 2 hours gone from my life that I will be begging for on my deathbed. Urk!

The war of the formats is pointless. DVDs have barely had six years on the market. Its to early for thim to be replaced.

The only reason you'd need HD DVD or Blu-Ray is if you have an HD set.The current HD-TV market is miniscule, to small to adopt a new format.

By 2009, Blu-Ray and HD-DVD will be made obsolete by Holographic storage.

Still, I'm personally pro HD DVD. Its more practical then Blu Ray. It is backwards compatible with DVDs after all. So I won't need to rebuy my current DVD collection should a new format become the new format of choice.

I intend to buy a PlayStation3, which automatically gives me, and every other PS3 owner, a Blu-ray player. That seems like it'll already give Blu-ray a big advantage in the market (not that I'm really an expert on the subject :P).
BDs also supposedly hold 25 gigs per layer, as opposed to HD-DVD's 15. Also remember that the discs can have multiple layers. I've read that they might cost more to produce, though.

Quote:Originally posted by nuckles87:
Still, I'm personally pro HD DVD. Its more practical then Blu Ray. It is backwards compatible with DVDs after all. So I won't need to rebuy my current DVD collection should a new format become the new format of choice.

Blu-Ray is backwards compatible as well.

"Well, my days of not taking you seriously are certainly coming to a middle."

Neither are "backwards compatible". DVD and HD/Blu use different lasers, which is one of the reasons that they can store more.

It will be based on the player to support both, but with DVD laser components being so cheap now, and companies would immediately lose a large amount of sales if they *didn't* support DVDs, I can assume all HD/Blu players will support DVDs as well.

I'd wouldn't buy either right now. Wait and see what happens. If neither is a clear winner by mid 2007 then either the manufacturers or studios will give up and start supporting both formats equally. I can wait a couple of years for Hi Def Serenity.

I expect all decent players will support DVD too - even if it means that they have to contain two different lasers.

Quote:Originally posted by jinsaku:
Neither are "backwards compatible". DVD and HD/Blu use different lasers, which is one of the reasons that they can store more.

It will be based on the player to support both, but with DVD laser components being so cheap now, and companies would immediately lose a large amount of sales if they *didn't* support DVDs, I can assume all HD/Blu players will support DVDs as well.

Quote:Originally posted by niknak:
I'd wouldn't buy either right now. Wait and see what happens. If neither is a clear winner by mid 2007 then either the manufacturers or studios will give up and start supporting both formats equally. I can wait a couple of years for Hi Def Serenity.

I expect all decent players will support DVD too - even if it means that they have to contain two different lasers.

Three, actually. The new format, DVD, and CD. DVD and CD use different lasers as well. Since 99.9% of DVD players you buy support CD lasing as well, you can assume the next gen will be backwards compatible down the line.

I was recently reading an article on CNN that said a company had delveloped a chip that could suport both Blu-ray and HDVD on the same player. This would eliminate the need to choose. Couldn't find the link, sorry.

Quote:Originally posted by rangrbob:
I was recently reading an article on CNN that said a company had delveloped a chip that could suport both Blu-ray and HDVD on the same player. This would eliminate the need to choose. Couldn't find the link, sorry.

While it may be technologically possible for a player to run both formats, it's highly doubtfull that both camp's would agree to licence the technology far such a player - both sides would much prefer that you choose their, and only their, system. Alas....

There is a lot of information regarding the whole format war over at thedigitalbits.com.

Personally, I'm not going to rush to get either any time soon. I imagine, with the popularity of DVD, the war between the formats, and holographic disks on the horizon, whichever format wins the war is going to live the life of Laserdisk - better than what's currently out there, but never a mainstream success.

If I get one at all, it'll be the Blu-Ray drive in the PS3. I was amazed that X-Box360 didn't have an HD-DVD drive, since microsoft announced support for HD-DVD early last year. Sure, now they've announced an add-on drive for later, but add-on drives have failed for every system that's tried them. If I'd just bought a 360, I'd be pretty pissed to find out I won't be able to play next Christmas's games without shelling out $100 for a new disk drive.

"Well, my days of not taking you seriously are certainly coming to a middle."

Seriously, though, Serenity in HD is going to be hard to resist. Last year, I was watching random trailers on INHD on our 60" Sony LCD when Serenity's suddenly came on! Wasn't expecting it, was a total rush...the familiar music...the quick succession of shots right at the beginning.

Anyway, it was indescribably beautiful. Seeing the whole film like that would be amazing.

Does anyone know if DirecTV or one of the major premium movie channels are planning to broadcast Serenity on their HD channel? If/when they do I'll grab it on my DirecTivoHD and NEVER erase that sucker even though it'll take a big chunk of my hard drive!

I think if players become resonable enough (~$300-400), then I might pick one up...I really just don't want to buy something for it to become obselete because one format won over the other....Serenity in HD is going to be beautiful though

Bill Gates confirmed at CES yesterday that an Xbox 360 HD-DVD drive is soon to be released. No word on price.

God, I can't imagine how much the PS3 is going to cost. With a Blu-ray drive, it'll have to be well over $500 since standalone players are going to be significantly more than that. Makes the 360 seem like a bargain.

I don't expect either next-gen DVD format to take off for years (if at all), though.

Quote:Neither are "backwards compatible". DVD and HD/Blu use different lasers, which is one of the reasons that they can store more.

God, I sure hope they do, because I don't exactly want my 85 DVDs' Box sets to go to waste and be a thing of the past after only about 4 years of collecting.

If that happens, I'll be extremely pissed off.

As far as the whole XBOX/HD DVD and PS3/BlueRay thing is going to go, I think I'll stick with Microsoft (I have a lot of games for XBOX that I still want to play in the future). Even though I'm Canadian, and I'd rather support Bill Gates over that lying scumbag that runs Sony who can only find himself finger pointing and calling Microsoft incompetent because MS doesn't kiss his ass.

(hmmm. sounds a lot like the political situation between Canada's and the US's governments right now. hmmm......)

"I aim to misbehave."
"Can't do something smart, do something right".

HOMER: "Oh Lisa, you and your stories; Bart is a vampire, beer kills brain cells. Now lets go back to that... building thingy... where our beds and T.V.... is".

Several sites have reported lately that PS3 will be $499 at release (like Microsoft, Sony will be taking a loss on the new system for the first 1-2 years), which is about what you'd pay for a 360 if you want the hard drive, and eventually the HD drive, which will likely be at least $100 (going strictly on rumor and previose sales models).

I was seriously considering getting a 360, as I really like my Xbox, but this add-on drive killed my desire for it. They were in such a rush to beat Sony out the door thay they released a system with an obsolete drive. If I want to upgrade a machine just to play games, I'll stick to my PC.

"Well, my days of not taking you seriously are certainly coming to a middle."

You said: "
Anyway, I'm willing to wait five years for holographic memory. It's storage capacity will put Blu Ray to shame."

Blu Ray IS holographic memory.

Not really. Holographic disks are a new format, just announced a couple of weeks ago (by Toshiba I think, though I could be wrong). There were a lot of jokes on tech sites about Blu-Ray and HD-DVD already being obsolete before their launch.

"Well, my days of not taking you seriously are certainly coming to a middle."

Quote:Does anyone know if DirecTV or one of the major premium movie channels are planning to broadcast Serenity on their HD channel? If/when they do I'll grab it on my DirecTivoHD and NEVER erase that sucker even though it'll take a big chunk of my hard drive!

Well, either HBO or Showtime have bought the rights to show the movie on cable, I'm not sure which, and am unmoved to research it. In either case, both of those providers have HD channels on my Cox digital cable. So, I'll pray that they offer it in HD -- which cable premiere should roughly coincide with the HD-DVD release announced -- then record it on my DVR, then to hard drive via USB.

Another question I have is: If BlueRay and HD-DVD players won't play DVDs, that likewise means they won't play DVD+/-R/W's either, right? Wot a pain in the azz! Still, I can save it to my external USB 2.0 HDD, connected to my digital box, and watch it on my Philips 60" HDTV.

Note: Remember when you had to choose between +RW and -RW because they were incompatible? Now, just about every burner is +/-RW. Not saying that the BlueRay and HD-DVD war will ever go that particular compromise route, but there is a precedent...

Another note: While folk are already starting to declare the BlueRay the winner in the format wars -- small-time player Microsoft notwithstanding -- let's all remember that Sony gave us the Betamax, too, that it was considered technically superior to VHS, and that it got it's butt handed to it.

So, BlueRay, Macintosh, Betamax and Edsels for all the Don Quixotes of the world...

Respectfully,

zoid

P.S.
I despise overly proprietary equipment. A thousand PC manufacturers can build IBM-compatible components; only Apple can supply Mac components, at inflated prices they demand based on whimsy. Several hundred manufacturers still offer VHS players; Sony was the only manufacturer of Betamax and set their pricing higher, because they were the sole proprieter. Edsels were just 'hi-tech' white elephants. Sony BlueRay... Dong-ma?
_________________________________________________

Quote:Originally posted by jinsaku:
Neither are "backwards compatible". DVD and HD/Blu use different lasers, which is one of the reasons that they can store more.

It will be based on the player to support both, but with DVD laser components being so cheap now, and companies would immediately lose a large amount of sales if they *didn't* support DVDs, I can assume all HD/Blu players will support DVDs as well.

-- Chris

_________________________________________________
Much work remains to be done before we can announce our total failure to make any progress...

Quote:Originally posted by jerryt:
I'll eventually be getting a Hi-Def unit, but probably not until the format wars between Blueray and the HD-DVD are over. Sigh, VHS/Betamax all over again. That, and the price will drop on the units once they are out for awhile.

Now I just have to get my big screen TV. Just waiting for the true 1080p units to hit. Hopefully in 06.

JerryT
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"I'll be in my bunk"

And if the war never settles then you can bet your ass you will see some kind of "hybrid" player that can play them both. You know - with both laser systems. Its bound to come.

Jayne: All those years of preacher training, getting knocked out by one bounty hunter
Book: Oh, dont get me wrong. I gave him a hell of a fight
Jayne: Epic i'm guessing

Of course, much of this speculative technology is more bark than bite, but then... whoever would have thought that computers would ever need more than 640k of RAM...?

Quote:Originally posted by nuckles87:
The war of the formats is pointless. DVDs have barely had six years on the market. Its to early for thim to be replaced.

The only reason you'd need HD DVD or Blu-Ray is if you have an HD set.The current HD-TV market is miniscule, to small to adopt a new format.

By 2009, Blu-Ray and HD-DVD will be made obsolete by Holographic storage.

Still, I'm personally pro HD DVD. Its more practical then Blu Ray. It is backwards compatible with DVDs after all. So I won't need to rebuy my current DVD collection should a new format become the new format of choice.

_________________________________________________
Much work remains to be done before we can announce our total failure to make any progress...

Quote:Originally posted by Storymark:
Several sites have reported lately that PS3 will be $499 at release.

That's all speculation so far. All anyone knows is that Sony's president has said people should expect to pay "a premium price."

According to today's Associated Press article out of CES, the first standalone Blu-ray players this year will cost $1,800. I find it very hard to believe Sony would sell one (which oh-by-the-way is also a PS3) for $500.

Meanwhile the same article says the first HD-DVD players will be $400. Quite a gap as far as cost of the technology.

The HD-DVD players released by Toshiba, will play back standard DVD content. BluRay will be more expensive to produce because, as usual, it involves Sony and their proprietary technology. That is one of the main reasons I boycott Sony products and I'm sure why some of their products have ultimately failed though supposedly superior to the competition (Betamax and Minidisc anyone.) The discs cost more to make than the HD-DVD discs which more closely resemble standard DVDs. As far as using the PS3 as a player I can only say what a waste. Historically consoles do not perform well as video players when compared to stand-alone players (of reasonable quality of course) and we are talking about HiDef. I think people with larger HiDef displays will likely be disappointed by the quality of a PS3 video player platform. It ashame that the competing camps couldn't come to an agreement like they did with DVD. Thank you Sony.

Well, the good news is that someone will rip it and make it available for download.

Also, new compression algorithms such as H.264 means that, once ripped, one will be able to compress down with a more efficient algorithm and burn to a regular DVD-R much as one can rip a DVD, re-encode and burn to CDROM right now.

It actually looks like an HD movie (just the movie and only one language sound) will be able to fit on a standard DVD-R with no noticeable reduction in quality.

Of course this DVD-R will only be playable by an actual computer and not a standard DVD player.

Quote:Originally posted by 69rdrnr:
As far as using the PS3 as a player I can only say what a waste. Historically consoles do not perform well as video players when compared to stand-alone players (of reasonable quality of course) and we are talking about HiDef. I think people with larger HiDef displays will likely be disappointed by the quality of a PS3 video player platform. It ashame that the competing camps couldn't come to an agreement like they did with DVD. Thank you Sony.

It may not be a top-of-the-line player, but neither was the PS2, and that machine is credited in great part with the current DVD boom. Many, many people's first DVD player was their PS2. And, the fact is, not many people have HD sets yet, and probably won't for a few years, and those without won't be able to tell a difference.

"Well, my days of not taking you seriously are certainly coming to a middle."

Quote:Originally posted by 20thCentFoxHater:
God, I sure hope they do, because I don't exactly want my 85 DVDs' Box sets to go to waste and be a thing of the past after only about 4 years of collecting.

If that happens, I'll be extremely pissed off.

my friend I have a ... record player. Just because a format is obsolete doesn't mean you can't play it anymore. And, lest we forget, there are Commodore 64s hooked up to the internet now. The past never dies, no matter how forgotten it may become.

All FIREFLY graphics and photos on this page are copyright 2002-2012 Mutant Enemy, Inc., Universal Pictures, and 20th Century Fox.
All other graphics and texts are copyright of the contributors to this website.
This website IS NOT affiliated with the Official Firefly Site, Mutant Enemy, Inc., or 20th Century Fox.